Pieter Hugo

Nollywood

Nollywood is the third largest film industry in the world, releasing between 500 and 1 000 movies each year. Stars are local actors; plots confront the public with familiar situations of romance, comedy, witchcraft, bribery, prostitution. The narrative is overdramatic, deprived of happy endings, tragic. The aesthetic is loud, violent, excessive. Pieter Hugo's images are staged representations of Nigerian film sets, featuring local actors who recreate the stereotypical myths and symbols that characterise Nollywood productions. Accompanying texts are by Chris Abani, Stacy Hardy and Zina Saro-Wiwa.